[Stress prevention and supervisor training].

This article surveys available literature addressing the role of supervisors (corporate administrators) in stress prevention activities within the workplace and describes some desirable training courses. In most successful stress management programs or programs that promote mental health, the provision of training for supervisors has been an important strategy. Several reports have asserted that proper training is an effective method of reducing worksite stress and improving job satisfaction in workers, but few prospective intervention studies investigating the truth of these reports have been made. Additional research is necessary to assess the validity of various training programs. The structure of organizations and employment systems has recently begun to change, and the traditional employee-supervisor relationship is slowly disappearing in some enterprises, so that the role of supervisors with regard to stress management may need to be revised.

Job strain, social support in the workplace, and haemoglobin A1c in Japanese men.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between job strain (defined in the model of job demands and job control) and social support at the workplace with levels of glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) METHODS: All male employees aged 40-60 in a manufacturing firm, Japan, were invited to take part in the study. A blood sample was taken from the participants and HbA1c (%) was measured. Job strain and social support at the workplace were assessed with the job content questionnaire (JCQ). After excluding those who had a history of diabetes mellitus or other chronic diseases, data from 268 male day workers were analyzed. RESULTS: Age adjusted average concentrations of HbA1c were significantly higher in the highest quartile group of job strain or the lowest quartile group of social support at the workplace (p<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that job strain was significantly and positively related to HbA1c (p<0.05), whereas social support at the workplace was significantly and negatively related to HbA1c (p<0.05), both after controlling for other covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Greater job strain and lower social support at the workplace may be associated with increased concentrations of HbA1c. Increased blood glucose may be a physiological mediator between job strain or social support at the workplace and coronary heart disease.

Can positive affect items be used to assess depressive disorders in the Japanese population?

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to examine the measurement properties of positive affect items among the Japanese population. METHODS: Responses to the Japanese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and four additional negatively revised items of the original positive affect items were compared for 85 Japanese psychiatric out-patients with dysphoric-mood-related symptoms and 255 demographically matched controls. RESULTS: Responses to positive affect items were generally comparable between the two groups, whereas responses to negative symptom items were markedly different (P < 0.002 for all comparisons). The group difference was most marked for symptom persistence. Responses to the four negatively revised items of positive affect revealed a similar picture to that of the negative symptom items. The internal consistency of the scale significantly improved when the original positive affect items were replaced by the negatively revised items (P < 0.001 for both). CONCLUSIONS: Positive affect items with positive wording cannot be used to assess depressive disorders in the Japanese population adequately, but this can be done with the corresponding negatively revised items.

[Availability of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) for a complete health examination in Japan].

OBJECTIVE: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is an instrument designed to identify hazardous drinkers, harmful drinkers and alchoholics. It was translated into Japanese using the WHOQOL method. The concurrent validity and reliability of the Japanese version of AUDIT were evaluated in a complete health examination. The instrument was also compared with the CAGE questionnaire. METHOD: The subjects were 93 applicants attending for health checks in a human dry dock. They completed self-report questionnaires containing the Core AUDIT and CAGE. and underwent a semi-structured interview conducted by a professional physician. RESULT: From the semi-structured interview, it was determined that 23 of the subjects were problem drinkers and 10 were alcoholics. Analyses indicated that the Core AUDIT was sufficiently sensitive and specific for discriminating problem drinkers and alcoholics. Core AUDIT was also superior to CAGE for discriminating problem drinkers from non-problem drinkers, as well as identifying alcoholics. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that the Japanese version of AUDIT is useful for early detection of hazardous or harmful drinkers.